The Department of Defense is training all of its personnel in its current Antiterrorism and Force Protection Annual Refresher Training Course that political protest is "low-level terrorism."
The Training introduction reads as follows:
"Anti-terrorism (AT) and Force Protection (FP) are two facets of the Department of Defense (DoD) Mission Assurance Program. It is DoD policy, as found in DoDI 2000.16, that the DoD Components and the DoD elements and personnel shall be protected from terrorist acts through a high pirority, comprehensive, AT program. The DoD's AT program shall be all encompassing using an integrated systems approach."
The first question of the Terrorism Threat Factors, "Knowledge Check 1" section reads as follows:
Which of the following is an example of low-level terrorism activity?
Select the correct answer and then click Check Your Answer.
O Attacking the Pentagon
O IEDs
O Hate crimes against racial groups
O Protests
***
The "correct" answer is Protests.
A copy of this can be found on the last two pages of this pdf.
The ACLU learned of this training and on June 10, 2009 sent a letter to the Gail McGinn, Acting Under-Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, objecting to their training all DoD personnel that the exercise of First Amendment rights constitutes "low-level terrorism."
For those who have worried about a trend - evident, for example, in the USA PATRIOT Act, the universal and ongoing government surveillance of all of Americans' electronic communications that began in February of 2001 (seven months before 9/11), the global war on a tactic (terrorism), therefore making this war unending, the unprecedented pre-emptive arrests of protestors at the 2008 Republican National Convention with those protesters being charged as "domestic terrorists," the justifications for torture, pre-emptive wars of aggression, ongoing occupations, American gulags such as Bagram, suspension of habeas corpus, and "prolonged detention" for acts someone might commit, not what they have done, FBI et al infiltration of protest groups and the government's acknowledged use of undercover agents (agents provocateurs) in said infiltration, thus giving the government under the rubric of fighting domestic terrorism unrestrained and unsupervisable power to suppress legitimate political activities, the unleashing and justifications for Christian fascists to murder those they do not like (such as the assassination of Dr. George Tiller and the killing at the Holocaust Museum a few days ago) - this news adds further fuel to the fire.
These are not items from some famously vilified, non-US dictatorial regime. These are items from the good ole USA, land of the free and home of the brave.
Just how brave are we now? How free are we still? Are we brave enough to be "winter soldiers" and stand up against these fascist moves? Or will we go down in history in infamy, the way the "Good Germans" of the 1930s and 1940s did?
Satellite photo of one of the detention camps built by Halliburton's subsidiary, Kellogg, Brown & Root. This one's in Wyoming.
Comments
you dont have miranda rights or habeus corpus or any other rights.
man, that clock is ticking!
before my son graduates - in six years - we will have american shot down in america, BY the american government.
but it wont only be four dead in ohio this time.
anyway, thats my prediction. because they are not just taking away our rights - they are decimating them rapidly.
and still, some defend obama.
some think *WE" give the conservatives victory. please. obama is the best damn whipping boy a white man ever saw.
------------------
Any people anywhere being inclined and having the power, have the right to rise up and shake off the existing government, and force a new one that suits them better. - Abraham Lincoln
Have a nice day.
BBE: Thanks!
Bill: "Have a nice day!" LOL
RATED
"ongoing government surveillance of all of Americans' electronic communications that began in February of 2001 (seven months before 9/11)"
I think it means that they are spying foreign nationals, too besides American citizens. And they are spying all emails and Internet publications.
After some time even writings like ours are considered to be low-level terrorism?
What are the means to find out, how they are actually doing it?
What is the office doing it, which companies have they hired for it?
Hannu, yes, of course, you are correct that the massive surveillance has also been of non-Americans. I would refer you re: your questions to sources like Barbara Bowley's chapter in my book, Impeach the President, Chapter 9.
Cindy: Yes, the "getting the bad guys" is common talk in such company for these activities.
what a disaster.
After the train pulled into the station, the speaker and a few who understood the risks stepped off. A majority remained, mocking them with impunity. The doors soon closed and the train shuffled off slowly from the station. The crowd inside the train laughed and joked amongst themselves about the “wiseman” and “his flock.” All but one young lady, just staring up at the route map. The train reached full speed. Then she turned anxiously to everyone and said, “I think we made a big mistake. We should have listened to that guy! There’s construction on the bridge ahead according to this route map!” Everyone looked out the right side windows in horror as the train continued around a bend speeding headlong towards the unfinished bridge ahead over the ravine.
The jackboots are on, polished, and ready to march. Watch out.
http://once4all.wordpress.com
Oh, yeah,
RATED
Although, some of us remember the White House Enemies list and how paranoid many of us who had any level of campus activism at all were of the Nixon administration in the early 70's.
I doubt there is any other motivation behind this. It is the coming home of the Bush/Cheney "enemy combatant" labeling of people to attempt getting around the clearly drawn legal lines and protections they should have. Obama must shoulder some blame for this, too, because he is not making the stands necessary to dissuade this kind of thing.
Do you really think classifying “protests” as “terrorism” can encompass anything good? I ask this respectfully, no disrespect intended. What would the good be? What is the point of using this terminology?
I just think it is way past time for “hoping” these bad things are not happening as they happen.
Wayne: As Rick said.
Forgiven: Powerful metaphor!
Montcalm: Yep.
Robin: Your blood, as it should!
that is a link to an article in the daily mail (rag, but still) of the iranian police shooting a man dead for protesting.....
i guess, according to the DoD, since he is a low level terrorist.....
The other answer choices are clearly wrong so the "right" answer reminds me of the dumbed down kind of questions/answers that have become all too common in American classrooms.
We don't want DoD personnel to be thinking, after all. We will lead them to the answer we want them to give so that even if they're a little slow, they can still do what we want them to do.
Which of the following is an example of low-level terrorism activity?
Select the correct answer and then click Check Your Answer.
O Attacking the Pentagon
O IEDs
O Hate crimes against racial groups
O Protests